I used to hate exercising. I'm soooo not into cardio. I know tons of people love running, but it's just not my thing. On the other hand, I love pilates. I first discovered pilates a couple years ago via youtube. I've done a bit of yoga on and off and I think I was looking for stretching videos when I came across the Blogilates youtube channel. I liked pilates immediately, but I didn't start practicing on a regular basis until earlier this year.
My activewear wardrobe is pretty pitiful though. Because I exercise at home I never bothered with buying cute new clothes. Plus who can afford those lululemon prices? So up until now I've made do with old tank tops and cheapo bike shorts from Forever 21 *hangs head in shame*. But no more! It's cute activewear only from here-on out!
This is the Pneuma tank by Papercut Patterns. It's part of their activewear collection, Tri, which also includes the Anima pant and Soma swimsuit. I fell in love with the design of this tank the minute I laid eyes on it! The interlaced straps, the dipped hem, the peeks of the attached sports bra underneath... so cute!
I dyed this jersey at the same time I dyed the linen for my shibori Prefontaine shorts.
The pink sports bra fabric is some sort of performance fabric called "Cool Max Knit" from fabric.com. I haven't actually worked out in this tank yet, so I can't attest to its alleged sweat-wicking properties. It was cheap though! Hopefully it'll hold up.
I'm not normally a hot pink kind of gal, but I really like the pop of color underneath the tank!
I made a muslin of just the sports bra first, using the same type of fabric in royal blue. I didn't have the right widths of elastic on hand, so I used 1/4" instead of 3/8" around the top and 1/2" instead of 1" around the bottom. That ended up not being the best idea, especially around the top, because the elastic digs into my sides/armpits in an uncomfortable way. It really does need to be folded under that extra 1/8" to be comfortable.
I used white bra strapping on this version, which worked okay, but I like the look of the (un-folded) foldover elastic I used on the tank a lot better. The thicker straps stand out more, and the foldover elastic is actually a lot stretchier and more comfortable than the bra strapping. I did end up using way less strapping than suggested - like 9 inches per strap less - because of the extra stretchiness.
One thing this pattern is missing is an option to add bra cups. Next time I make one up I may try to add those pockets you see on RTW sports bras/swimsuits with removable cups.
I'll leave you with my attempt at a yoga pose. So serene and graceful right? ;) I should probably head to a yoga class one of these days, now that I have some activewear I won't be embarrassed leaving the house in.
Have you made activewear before? Do you know of any other good patterns?
<3 Lindsay
Labels: activewear, dyeing, finished project, papercut patterns, pneuma tank, shibori
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